Mattress-filling machine



June 8, 1926. 1,587,776

' H. c. HQLLAND MATTRESS FILLING MACHINE Filed June 8, 1925 I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Juli 8 .1926.

H. C. HOLLAND 'MATTRESS FILLING MACHINE Filed June 8, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 4427 7 cg/gozza d (momma i June 8,1926. 1,587,776 7 H. C. HOLLAND MATTRESS FILLING MACHINE Filed June 8, 1925 s Sheds-Sheet :s

flarvy a. ozzapd H101 smu Patented June 8, 192 .255,

uurren stares HARRY C. HOLLAND, 0F GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN.

MATTRESS-FILLING MACHINE.

Application filed June 8, 1925.

This invention relates to mattress making apparatus, particularly to mattress filling machines and has for its general object the provision of a machine by means of which a ticking may be ouickly and easily filled with the material or materials commonly used, means being provided whereby the work may be carried out with much less laborthan is ordinarily required.

Machines of this general character may include a suitable frame structure provided at one end with a spout about which the ticking is engaged, the filling material being placed upon a travelling belt or apron and carried thereby to and through the spout and into the ticking or case. In ordinary machines manual means is generally provided for effecting operation-of the coacting drive elements. In such machines it is necessary that the ticking or case be held upon the spout while the filling operation is being carried out and this is ordinarily accomplished manually, it being customary for two operators to hold the ticking in place and permit it to be moved off from the spout as the filling lnaterial is introduced while preventing it from moving too fast and bagging. Obviously, the work of holding the ticking or case in position and controlling the driving of the mechanism re quires the services of several operators. It is with these facts in view that l have designed the present invention which has "for its object the provision not only of an easily controllable power mechanism for eiiecting driving but also the provision of a novel and specially constructed gripping device tor holdingthe ticking or case upon the spout and permittitng it to feed off automatically as the filling material is introduced.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide gripping means of this character which may be controlled by the same operzu tor attending to the general control of the machine and the driving means therefor, the number of attendants being consequently reduced and the cost of production ot the mattress thereby lowered.

Another object is to provide gripping means equipped with pedal operated mechanism for effecting release and provided with manually operable means for maintaining a released or inoperative position while an empty icking or case is being placed upon the spout or a filledone refiner-ed therefrom,

Serial No. 35/338.

An additional object is to provide a. device ot this character which will be simple and inexpensive to manufacture, easy to ins all, positive and automatic'in action, eiicient and durable in service, and a general improvement in the art.

To the attainn'ient of the toregoing and other objects and advantages theinvention preferably consists in the details of construction and the arrangement andcombination of parts to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the ma chine,

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof,

Figure 3 is a front elevation, and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the gripping means in released or inoperative position.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the machine is shown as comprising a suitable 'rame indicated generally by the numeral'l, whiclrtrame may include uprights 2 connected by cross bars 3 a d any desired or necessary number of longitudinal bars 4-. Qbviously the frame may be constructed of any desired material, either wood or metal and in the latter instance the bars may be of any desired cross sectional configuration, these and other details such as size being immaterial. lviounted at one end of the frame is a rectangular spout 5 on which is engaged the case or ticking to be filled.

,lournally mounted in suitable bearings 6 at the forward end of the frame is a'tr: nsverso shatt 7 which has its ends projecting considerably beyond the sides of the trams and which is equipped at one end with a gear 8. Similarly mounted in bearings 9 at the other end of the frame is a shaft 10 carrying a gear 11. The shafts '7 and to carry rollers 12 and 18 respectively about which is engaged a conveyor belt or apron 14; which supports the filling material, not shown, to be placed within the case or ticking engaged upon the spout. Suitably mounted in the frame near the ends thereof are bearings 15 and 16 carrying counter shafts 17 and 18 on which are mounted pulleys 19 and 20 peripherally engaged by a belt 21, The shafts 17 and 18 are also equipped with pinions 22 and 23 which mesh respectively with the gears 8 and 11. By this arrangement it will be seen that the shafts and rollers both the machine will. b

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Hill

sin'iultaneously operated. For effecting driving, I preferably provide an electric motor 24; of suitable power and any preferred type, which motor has its shaft carrying a pulley 25 engaged by a belt 26 in turn trained about a pulley 27 on the shaft 17. The specific control means for the motor is not illustrated in detail though a convenient arrangement is to provide a reversing and stopping switch 28 mounted, for instance, at the top of one of the uprights 2 so as to be conveniently reached by an operator standing at the forward end of the machine.

Mounted in suitable bearings 29 on the up-' rights 2 at the forward end of the machine is a shaft 30 equipped at one end with a gear 31 meshing with the gear 3, and provided intermediate its ends with presser roller 32 designed to bear upon and compress the filling material carried by the apron and also to guide and assist in conducting the material into the spout.

In the operation up to this point, it will be seen that when the motor is energized the filling material on the apron M will be carried along to and through the spout 5 and fed into the ticking or case engaged thereon, subsequently to which the motor may be reversed for returning the apron to its initial position. Clearly, automatic means might be provided in association withthe switch and one of the movable elements of the mechanism for reversing the motor automatically. By this arrangement and combination of parts it is evident that there 1s no manual labor involved in driving the mechanism.

Avery important feature of the invention is the provision of mechanical means for holding the case or ticking upon the spout. To accomplish this I provide upper and lower pairs of arms 33. and 34 pivoted with respect to the frame, preferably upon the projecting ends ofthe shafts 30 and 7 respectively. The arms 33 carry a shaft mounted preferably in roller bearings 36, and the arms 34 are connected by or carry a similarshaft 37 mounted in roller bearings 38. The shafts 35 and 37 are located, respectively, above and below the spout 5 and are intended to engage the case or ticking for holding it in position upon the spout, the gripping action being produced by coil springs 39 which connect the upper and lower arms for dra *ing them together. The arms are provided with extensions 40 with which are pivotally connected links iii which extend downwardly and which are pivotally connected at 4-2 with the arms 3% so that the arms may be moved simultaneously. The lower arms 34 may also be provided with weights 4L3 assisting the springs for main taining the parts in gripping relation.

In order that the shafts 35 and 37 may be moved apart to release their grip upon the case or ticking, I provide a suitably journaled rock shaft 44 equipped at its ends with pedals 45 with which are pivotally connected upwardly extending links 46 which are in turn pivotally connected with the arms 34, so that by pressing down upon either of the pedals the arms 33 and 34: will be moved in opposite directions and the shafts carried thereby brought out of engagement with the ticking.

IVhen placing an empty case or ticking upon the spout and when removing a filled one it is desirable that the gripping shafts be held positively in inoperative position without it being necessary for the operator 1 to hold either of the pedals depressed.

In carrying out this feature I provide levers 47 pivoted at 48 upon the upper arms 33 and'having their lower ends formed with projections 49 adapted to engage within notches 50 in the upper ends of upstanding retaining members 51 carried by the arms 34:. Referring to Figure 1 it will be seen that under working conditions the levers 47 are idle and simply rest on the upper corners of the retaining members 51. IV hen release of the gripping means is desired, either pedal l5 maybe depressed to separate the arms 33 and 3e, subsequently to which the levers 47 are swung into their vertical position, as shown in Figure 4, with the projections 49 engaging Within the notches 5.0. The gripping shafts 35 and 37 will thus be held spaced away from the spent so as not to interfere with any necessary operations. Attention is invited to the fact that when the gripping shafts are in engagement with the ticking and the filling material is introduced thereinto, the roller bearings for these shafts will permit them to turn as the ticking is forced off from the spout, it being thus 0] vious that there will be no undue friction or strain upon the ticking.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawings it will be apparent that I have thus provided a simply constructed, inexpensive and very easily operated and controlled mechanism for the purpose specified, the arrangement and location a of the various parts being such that the entire control and operation may be effected by a single attendant. Naturally this reduction in labor should cause a corresponding decrease in the cost of manufacture of mattresses. It is believed that the construction, operation and advantages will be thoroughly apparent to one skilled in the art without further explanation.

lVhile I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that I reserve the right to make all such changes in the details of construction and the form and arrangement lOS of parts to increase the adaptability of the invention and to Widen its "field of utility,

provided such variations constitute no departure from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. In a mattress filling machine, a supporting frame, a spout upon one end thereof adapted to have a ticking or case engaged thereon, shafts mounted in the frame at the ends thereof and carrying rollers, an apron trained about the rollers and leading to the spout, gears on said shafts, counter shafts journaled in the frame inwardly of said firstnamed shafts and carrying pinions meshing with said gears, and means for driving said counter shafts simultaneously.

2. In a mattress filling machine, a sup porting frame, a spout upon one end thereof adapted to have a ticking or case engaged thereon, shafts mounted in the frame at the ends thereof and carrying rollers, an apron trained about the rollers and leading to the spout, gears on said shafts, counter shafts journaled in the frame inwardly of said first-named shafts and carrying pinions meshing with said gears, means for driving said counter shafts simultaneously, comprising pulleys on the counter shafts, a belt trained about the pulleys, and a power device operatively connected with one of the counter shafts.

3. In a mattress filling machine, a supporting frame, a spout upon one end thereof adapted to have a ticking or case engaged thereon, shafts mounted in the frame at the ends thereof and carrying rollers, an apron trained about the rollers and leading to the spout, gears on said shafts, counter shafts journaled in the frame inwardly of said first-named shafts and carrying pinions meshing with said gears, means for driving said counter shafts simultaneously, comprising pulleys on the counter shafts, a belt trained about the pulleys, a power device operatively connected with one of the coun ter shafts, the power device being formed as an electric motor, and a control switch for the motor mounted at that end ofthe frame equipped with the spout.

4. In a mattress filling machine, a supporting frame, a spout upon one end thereof adapted to have a ticking or case engaged thereon, shafts mounted in the frame at the ends thereof and carrying rollers, an apron trained about the rollers and leading to the spout, gears on said shafts, counter shafts journaled in the frame inwardly of said first-named shafts and carrying pinions meshing with said gears, means for driving said counter shafts simultaneously, and pedal released spring pressed gripping means above and below the spout for holding the ticking or case thereon,

5. In combination with the ticking or case receiving spout of a mattress filling machine, gripping means for holding the ticking or case upon the spout, and pedal operated means for releasing said gripping means.

6. In combination with the ticking or case receiving spout of a mattress filling machine, gripping means for holding the ticking or case upon the spout, pedal operated means for releasing said gripping means, and manually operable means for maintainin said gripping means in released position.

In a mattress filling machine having a spout adapted to have a ticking or case engaged thereon, the combination with the spout of ticking or case gripping means comprising upper and lower pairs of pivoted arms carrying shafts located above and below the spout in position to bear against the ticking or case, spring means urging said shafts toward each other, means connecting the pairs of arms for insuring simultaneous movement thereof, and pedal means connected with one pair of arms and operable to swing both the pairs away from each other.

8. In a mattress filling machine having a spout adapted to have a ticking or case engaged thereon, the combination with the spout of ticking or case gripping means comprising upper and lower pairs of pivoted arms carrying shafts located above and below the spout in position to bear against the ticking or case, spring means urging said shafts toward each other, means connecting the pairs of arms for insuring simultaneous movement thereof, pedal means connected with one pair of arms and operable to swing both the pairs away from'each other, and means carried by one pair of levers and engageable with the other for maintaining them in separated position with said shafts out of engagement with the ticking or case.

9; In a mattress filling machine having a spout upon which a ticking or case is engageable, the combination with the spout of gripping means comprising upper and lower pairs of arms pivotally mounted and carrying rotatable transverse elements located above and below the spout respectively, links connecting the pairs of arms for insuring simultaneous movement thereof, pivotally mounted pedals connected with the lower pair of arms for swinging both pairs apart, spring means urging the pairs of arms together, retaining members carried by the lower pair of arms, and levers pivoted on the upper pair of arms and engageable with said retaining members for maintaining the parts in position with said transverse elements disengaged from the ticking or case.

In testimony whereof I alfix my signature,

HARRY G, HQLLAND, 

